Princess Pigsty

Three sisters, real princesses with people to serve them at every turn: what more could they wish for? They ‘must be the happiest children in the world’ thinks the queen. But not the youngest, Isabella, who longs to get dirty, make her own sandwiches and blow her own nose. To teach her a lesson, the king sends her to work, first in the kitchens, then in the pigsty. To his surprise – but not ours – she is blissfully happy, and at last he understands.

Not the most unusual of themes, but warmly told, with a good range of language and cadence. The watercolour illustrations are lively and humorous with some glimpses of originality – Tony Ross’s Little Princess a bit older, perhaps?